ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the application pattern and mechanism of medicine and food homologous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) against modern viral diseases. Methods The method of literature mining was applied based on the characteristics of modern viral diseases, combining with ancient books and modern prescriptions for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases to build a relevant prescription database. Then SPSS and R language were used to analyze the high-frequency medicine and food homologous TCM and high confidence medicine and food homologous prescriptions in these prescriptions, and cluster analysis was carried out. The antiviral characteristic active ingredients of high-frequency medicinal and food homologous TCN were identified and analyzed, and the action mechanism of active ingredients against modern viral diseases was evaluate by network pharmacology. Results In the prevention and treatment of modern viral diseases, Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma)-Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium)-Fuling (Poria) had the highest confidence, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix) had the highest support. At the same time, the prescriptions were clustered and analyzed to obtain Jinyinhua (Lonicerae Japonicae Flos)-Huangqi (Astragali Radix)-Huoxiang (Agastache rugosa), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Xingren (Armeniacae Semen Amarum)-Poria-Platycodonis Radix-Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, Ganjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma)-Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma), Zisu (Perilla frutescens)-Gegen (Puerariae Lobatae Radix), Lugen (Phragmitis Rhizoma)-Sangye (Mori Folium), Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens)-Dazao (Jujubae Fructus) clustering new prescription. The core action targets of EGFR, CASP3, VEGFA, STAT3, MMP9, HSP90AA1, mTOR, PTGS2, MMP2, TLR4, MAPK14, etc were identified. The action mechanism involved human cytomegalovirus infection, coronavirus disease-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), etc. The core action pathway were phosphatidylinositol-3/kinase protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signal pathway, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathway, interleukin-17 (IL-17) signal pathway, Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signal pathway, etc. Conclusion Through data mining, six new prescriptions for preventing and controlling modern viral diseases were obtained, and the mechanism of action was preliminarily discussed, which provided some reference for the research and development of medicine and food homologous TCM prescriptions for the prevention and treatment of viral epidemics and related health products.
ABSTRACT
As cardiovascular diseases are still a major cause of death in most countries, it is still relevant to look into treatment of such diseases. Dyslipidemia is one of the important identified risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. As this is largely driven by lifestyle and diet, it may be difficult to control it with lifestyle modifications alone. Currently, Statins remains to be the mainstay therapy for dyslipidemia but this is also met by problems within certain patient population. The drug may be contraindicated in certain patient groups;some patients tend to not respond to Statins;while certain patients may not tolerate the adverse events. This study looked into available literature on studies done on dyslipidemia using plant-based formulations using randomized clinical trial. Based on the review conducted, there are several plant-based formations with potential to be similar in efficacy to Statins. Some of the plants used are abundant or may be easily sourced. With the increasing popularity of food supplements or nutraceuticals, exploration on the potential of plant-based products is attractive. Despite the promising results of some studies, these will need further investigations and targeting a larger population size. Formulation options may need to be explored also focused on its stability. © RJPT All right reserved.